Sept 08 - Is it day or night?

[lollyheart]

Hope no one minds me starting a new thread?

MuwahahahaMom boob-feeding is much harder work for the LO's than bottle-feeding, so they take their time and have little rests. I understand that it is timeconsuming and too feel the guilt of not having much time for my almost 2yr old.

However, does expressing AND bottlefeeding actually give you more time when added together?

I too find that being out makes Baby Starlight less demanding for some reason! Home with 2 under 2 is like a torchure chamber, - especially now it is half-term and what we usually do is shut and what we don't usually do is crowded!

Let me remind you, and all on this thread, that we are still in the 'survival' phase of parenting with our newborns. Do what you need to do to survive only, and make your decisions based on that

Fab advice lollipop, although I'm too scared to cook dinner with the sling on.

Interested to know what your bf-unfriendly place was though. I thought I was gonna get slated when I HAD to feed in a meeting with the bank manager at Halifax. He was great actually and didn't seem phased at all, but then went on to try and sell us family insurance of some kind

very worried about star1ight and muwahahahamom's thing for Justin.

Also slightly worried at notcitrus and any others who only have a newborn and already know all about ceebeebies

We have sky+ and its the best invention ever for childrens programmes. I make sure I always have a few episodes save of the programmes that ds1 likes and I can cope with too. Then I don't have to just sit through whatevers on. Bob, Thomas, Mister Maker, and the most favouritist of all PEPPA PIG!

Today ds2 has had 2 out of his 3 sleeps in the car seat as he fell asleep while out then stayed asleep when we got back. In fact pretty much all he's done today is sleep. so if he needs held to sleep later I wont mind.

has anyone else noticed how long their babies have got?! DD seems to have almost doubled her length in 7 weeks. I know her weight is going up fast, but she'll be off the end of the changing mat at this rate!

DP has just got home after having 'the snip'. He has to rest in bed for 48 hours. I am going on a mercy mission to the supermarket for suitable snacks to sustain him. Mum has been helping out with DS so he doesn't go jumping on his daddy!

DS has got hairy tufts on his ears as well, and a little on his shoulders too. Hopefully he won't develop the all over body rug like his father has got

DS is in his cot for a nap at the mo - hurrah.

Does anyone else's lo go down for the first half of the night really well, but it goes down hill later on? DS is in his cot by 7.30 pm and is fine for his dreamfeed (10.30ish) and the 1 o'clock feed. But at the 4o'clock feed he is a nightmare to get to sleep again. I just can't quite work it out.

Deb You gotta admit he's got talent!? Talent can be attractive no?

Agree about those with newborns though

meglet I was just saying this to DH yesterday. Baby Starlight takes up most of the changing mat now where she only reached halfway when first brought home. Wishing your DP well.

mmm, talent can be attractive (like Sam Strachan in Holby who's also on Strictly Come Dancing, mmmmmmmmmmm he's attractive) but still not agreeing that Justin is attractive. He does fascinate me though, I do wonder what he's like in real life.

meglet I also noticed just this morning that ds2 is now nearly as long as his crib. We'll have to get the cot out soon.

Debi Meglet Yes I have noticed my dd is very long too. My ds is still using his cotbed as a bed, so I am considering a bedside cot. Anyone has experience of one?

Iliketoscareyou - I am in awe of you getting your LO into the crib by 7.30, I put mine down at 10-10:30pm, there would just be no point in trying at 7.30.

I'm another big sling fan - I don't know how I'd get anything done without it. This morning Arthur was inconsolable, and I put him in the sling and he was asleep within 30 seconds. It's like magic. Though actually he is currently lying on a blanket on the floor in a rare moment of being happy and not either asleep or feeding! He has spent most of the day asleep and has had a monster feed and lots of cuddles from a friend who was visiting, so he's ideally set up to be content for a while!

Am typing fast though, as it won't last!

I am just making the most of enjoying this newborn phase - he is so, so adorable, and I'm sure he'll be my last child, so am determined to savour every moment.

Ooops - he is now grizzling, off I go ....

Hello all.

Still feel crappy. Got a blood test on friday and my 6 week check next week so will see how I feel then.

Poor Toby has got a cold...anyone know what I can do for him (if anything) My back is killing me today - apart from 2 hours since 7am I have had to either be holding him or walking around with him...

Put some pics on my profile....at last!

Hope you are all well x

eandz I only got your message today. So sorry I missed it.

The drama of DD1's leg still continues I am afraid and that is partly responsible. She had a pressure sore from the cast and thinking it would get better, it has gotten worse and ended up in A&E with her over the weekend. Back to the fracture clinic today and back there again on Thurs. Hopefully it will really start to improve now. Fingers crossed for us everyone. With DH abroad at the moment things are tiring at Chez Foxy.

I tried contacting you today and left you a msg.

deb If you're bfing at 6am, it's Cbeebies or BBCNews... and after watching the news 3 times in a night, Tikkabilla and Balamory are most welcome!

Although thanks to extended family, I've been familiar with kids telly for some years - was gutted when the kids stopped watching Tweenies and wanted crap like Friends instead in the mornings...

Have decided my nipples need a break so am only expressing tonight until at least midnight. Will try A with a bit of formula to see his reaction. A is the same length as at birth (55cm) but has gone from being a skinny thing to a nicely filled out baby - still quite slender.

Question: Where in London can I go to try on various slings/baby carriers to find one that my hands can cope with and doesn't bugger up my back? Someone suggested a Wilkinet?

Oh yes - and what is this dreamfeed thing people go on about? A won't feed at all unless he's properly awake (let alone open wide + latch properly).

NC I think dream-feeding isn't necessarily about your LO being asleep, it's just about feeding them when YOU go to bed for the night regardless of whether they are asking, in order to maximise your hourage iyswim.

SOME babies won't wake up whilst doing it, but you have to get them in the right part of the sleep cycle.

Becaroo DS has a cold, got him a prescription today for nose drops, makes them sneeze apparently and clears them out ( although have to tip him upside down to get the drops up his nose!!!) and eye drops as his eyes are all sticky. Also go Snufflebabe (like a baby version of Vicks) for night time. Am hoping all this works as can't stand the pig grunting noises much longer

I'm a bit concerned that dh has a thing for Justin. Dd's fave programme of all time is Something Special, and dh keeps asking if I've seen particular episodes, and has labelled all of them on our hard drive so he can easily go to particular episodes. When friends came round for dinner dh was raving about Justin's multi-talents and even showed them Grandad Tumble beat-boxing on the Out and About at the Market episdoe. I think the boy needs therapy...

Ds is having another fussy evening and is in bed with the dummy. He sometimes settles himself in the day, or at least stays asleep when put down if he's fallen asleep on me, but not in the evenings. Also in the day if he's not hungry, he won't latch on, but in the evening he'll feed, then latch on again with a really lazy latch and nibble for ever, then throw up the milk he didn't want. I'm wise to this now, hence the dummy.

Ooooh, dinner time!

carrieon I have the same problem: ds will go into his Moses during the day and be awake and contended for awhile but will not settle to sleep on his own. Same thing at night. I've bought 3 different kinds of dummies and he hates them all, but I really think a dummy would help cos he's a very sucky baby. It's driving me nuts: how does one get a baby to sleep? And is this self soothing thing a myth? Help!

I feed to sleep, or stick her in the car seat and rock her before transfering. Life is to short - I won't be doing it til her 21st!

Its not the getting to sleep I have a problem with so much as the not staying asleep in the early evening. Might switch our bottle of formula to the bedtime feed rather than the dream feed and see if that works any better.

Starlight, good to know I'm not the only one with sleep issues. The problem is that very often he'll wake up half an hour after I've put him down and need feeding again to go back to sleep. But surely that's overfeeding him? How does one know when it's comfort and when it's hunger? And does it matter anyway?

Well I got my first wide awakw smile today - aaaah, it makes it all worth while (I think).

M a bit more settled today after a few days where she was mainly awake - she seems to only poo twice a week and the day before can be a bit unsettled.

I've found if I get M at the right time when she's just getting tired and put her in the pram and jiggle it a bit, she'll go to sleep fairly easily - if she's more tired it's really difficult.

ILikeToScareYouScareYou M is a lot less settled at the end of the night, often feeding every hour after 5. She is asleep though, but we put her to bed when I go at 10.30 ish rather thn earlier as the thought of getting them BOTH to bed at the same time is impossible.

Starlight I agree getting out and about is essential. Sometimes if M's being a pain sorry unsettled, I forget that going out in the pram/sling is the best bet

Pacita I think a babies sleep cycle lasts 30 mins, it's quite common for them to wake after that time and of course the trick is to try and keep them asleep longer -I have the same thing quite often. If you don't mind feeding I'm sure it won't harm him

Notcitrus this is the sling meet website that will tell you the closest one to you - they're sure to have a load of slings that you can try out.

lollipopmother - ds is 7 weeks old and for the past week we've been starting the bedtime routine at 6 ish (bath, feed, bed etc). It was really because he was showing signs of wanting to go to bed earlier. Previously he was going to bed at the same time as us, but he slept quite fitfully downstairs with us, then got overtired and it was a struggle to get him asleep.

I've also noticed how much ds has grown recently. He is very long (but was 2 foot when he was born!) and his thighs and belly have started to chub up. The 6 weeks growth spurt obviously worked its magic!

Morning - I was wondering if anyone was up and about.

I used my Close sling yesterday, walked about 3 miles in it and it was sooo comfortable, and easy to get on as well. I think this is my favourite now, it overtakes the Wilkinet because although it was a bit of a faff setting it up for the first time you don't need to undo the straps, just loosen them, so I won't have to go through it all again. It is also very good for winter because the fabric can be pulled over the baby's head, which means their head/ears are covered so no need for a hat, which ime always rides up in slings and i'm forever pulling it down again.

Starlight - Are you sure that it's the sling that slips and not just the baby? I noticed that Elizabeth was a crumpled heap in the bottom of her sling yesterday, but the sling hadn't moved at all. I took her out and tightened it up a bit, thought it would be too high but actually it wasn't. I also made sure the wrap was tighter. After that she didn't move a centimetre and as I said, I walked for about 3 miles.